Crisis will be over before Preston clash

PUBLISHED: 14:03 02 April 2008 | UPDATED: 13:14 24 August 2010

Matt Pickens should be fit for Saturday's game

By Ben Kosky QPR are confident their goalkeeping crisis will have eased by the time they face Preston at Loftus Road on Saturday. First choice Lee Camp was the only fit keeper left at the club earlier this week after back-up duo Matt Pickens and Reece Cro

QPR are confident their goalkeeping crisis will have eased by the time they face Preston at Loftus Road on Saturday.

First choice Lee Camp was the only fit keeper left at the club earlier this week after back-up duo Matt Pickens and Reece Crowther were both injured in training.

Regular number two Jake Cole has been sidelined by an elbow problem for several weeks and even youth team keeper Chris Goodchild has an ankle injury.

The sudden spate of injuries meant that coach David Rouse, a former semi-professional keeper, was pressed into action for Rangers' reserve team in their 2-1 defeat by Watford on Monday.

Rouse's last competitive match came more than a year ago after an injury crisis at Macclesfield, where he was working as goalkeeping coach - but he is not now registered as a player with the Football League.

"Reece jarred his shoulder in training on Monday, so he wasn't able to play, and then because Reece was injured, Matt Pickens had to join in a small-sided game at the end," Rouse explained.

"He got a dead leg and that was it. It happened so late in the day that we couldn't risk playing anybody in the reserve game and there was no option - it was me or the kit man.

"Jake's probably still three weeks away from full training, but Matt should be back in training Thursday or Friday, so hopefully he'll be on that bench against Preston."

Rangers are also hoping to have midfielder Akos Buzsaky available again after he missed last weekend's 0-0 draw at Ipswich with an ankle injury.